Remnant: The Battle of Mosskau
by Multiverse Inquisitor
Summary: A lone village in Northern Anima calls for help after detecting a battalion of White Fang members heading towards them. A team of Huntsmen and Huntresses heed the call, but before they get into battle, an iron monster - one they have not seen before - lays the first shot... This story doesn't focus on the main story, but on the many, stranger battles against the White Fang.


**I would like to say that I DO NOT OWN RWBY. RWBY belongs to Rooster Teeth, and the series' creator, Monty Oum.  
**

Remnant: The Battle of Mosskau

Prologue

"Attention! Attention! This is message goes out to all Hunters and Huntresses in and near the village of Mosskau. A battalion of White Fang members has been spotted approaching the Northern side of the village. Approximate distance between them is 2 miles and closing. Urgent help required!"

Present Time: 10:03 am

There was an eerie silence that covered the land between the mountainous regions of Anima, and the relatively large village of Mosskau. The rustling of leaves was the only thing nature could comfort us, but the ensuing battle against misled Faunus was enough to make the team of us four Hunters and Huntresses uneasy. The White Fang was spotted heading towards the thriving village. With a mine abundant with Dust crystals, it was truly a magnet for bandits, rogue huntsmen, and criminal organizations. The White Fang, being a terrorist group, was no exception. They used to be a peaceful protest group of half-animal half-humans called Faunus, whom demanded absolute respect and equality with humans, but to no avail. Now, they earn their "respect" though violence and fear. There were rumors of them planning to purge humanity, and take over Remnant. I hope that never happens. Then again, they can be unpredictable.

It was quite shocking to know that the Fang were targeting Mosskau, a community known for its mossy environment, hence the name. It was one of the few villages in Anima that was a complete haven for Faunus. The society there had no class, meaning humans and Faunus lived with equal rights; discrimination was pretty much non-existent since it offered homes and job opportunities to everyone. The village was also known to be heavily protected by their own people. They had their own Huntsmen, which were complimented with a small military of their own. Despite their size, they were very aggressive. Stories arose of thieves and criminals sneaking into the village and never coming out. Mosskau was called, "Fortress Village" for its reputation. On the other hand, the people were quite nice, industrious, and offered quality homage to any travellers and visitors. But, as I stated before, they were bitter to intruders, so I wouldn't be surprised if they send something monstrous to repel the approaching terrorists.

That's when my team and I heard something.

10:08 am

A low, mechanical grumble was approaching us from our left of the empty green field in front of us, where the mountainous regions stood behind a treeline. One be one, small armored cars and trucks full of White Fang grunts were driving down in neat columns. The only natural cover that could hide them were several lush shrubs scattered around. On our right side of the field was a tall line of overgrowth, with some shrubs being around ten meters high.

More of the Fang vehicles came out of their treeline. The foremost car was about to cross the center of the field, when its commander stood up, and halted the battalion. He pulled out a pair of binoculars and pointed them straight ahead. I thought it would be a perfect time for an ambush, until I realized the manpower they possess outmatched my team's capabilities.

Suddenly, I heard a something beyond the overgrowth; something that sounded like thunder. The commander put down his optics to look around. He twitched his sights back to the front, and placed his binoculars on his eyes. There was a faint whistling.

The car was shoved back, with the grille shredded inwards and the trunk flying. Dirt jumped a few meters behind the car, leaving a big hole in the ground.

The grunts began to scatter, with the armored cars and trucks taking frontal positions. But one by one, the cars were torn apart by a seemingly invisible force, whose only warning was a descending whistle. Five burned furiously, with most of them on their roofs and sides. I looked to the right to see where it was coming from. What looked like a turret was sticking out from a small crest over the hill beyond the overgrowth. Its cannon was billowing charcoal smoke at the end of it's barrel. It's muzzle brake sizzling. Behind it, thick soot swelled into the air. The turret began to move towards its line of massive shrubs. Bullets hailed down from this beast, pelting down any exposed terrorist.

Trying to reorganize themselves, the Faunus ran back to their treeline. Two small Atleasian Paladins trundled out. Ten to fifteen grunts trailed each Paladin as they advanced toward the bushes.

There was a pause. Neither the Paladins or the opposing machine fired. As they approached, I could hear the other machine grumbling behind the overgrowth. Whatever it was, the turreted opponent proved itself a grisly warrior.

A fireball raced down across the field, and snapped the one of the legs of the leading Paladin. The walking megalith genuflected offset to the right, and the explosion from the projectile rained hot metal unto the troops behind. I heard them scream as the hot shrapnel seared into their black and white uniforms. Another shot erupted, and the blow struck true on the top of the fallen walker. Sparks hopped, and flames licked the metal body. The lone operator might as well be dead if he or she didn't want to be cooked in that burning cage.

The second Paladin was halfway across the field. It's left rocket launchers rose from the its shoulders, and traversed toward the bush line. Machine guns popped rounds onto the casing. The launcher began to smoke. Flames ripped through the weapon, only to fire one rocket into the opposing shrubs.

Black smoke covered the entity of the burning bush. Whether it was hit or not, I could still hear its rhythmic, low rumbling.

Suddenly, the machine's engine roared. I heard a constant, unfamiliar sounds of metal squeaking along with the cracking of branches. A metal monstrosity crawled over the burning crest, spewing smouldering smoke from its backside. The lower hull was caked in mud with the wheels and tracks dropping lose chunks of dirt.

My team and I froze. What a beast! I looked to my teammates, with one of them with his mouth gaping open. This was something we've never seen before. Its cannon was about half the length of the entire thing, with an imposing muzzle brake at the end. The turret holding the gun was large. It had rounded edges, as well as a bulbous, convex front. A faded red star was painted on the side. A machine gun sat on a large dome, with it having slits along its sides; the cupola. Another machine gun was pointing out the back. The hull was long with a rounded, sloped front, and a straight, sloped rear. It had a large metal track around six large wheels, with three smaller ones above them holding it up, and two other wheels at the opposite ends of the vehicle with the rearmost one with spikes; a sprocket.

A man in a green coat and helmet poked his helmet head out of the dome, and grabbed hold of the machine gun. He sprayed the Paladin with lead, and then at the following troops. The Paladin turned its body towards the tracked machine, another rocket launcher coming out of its right shoulder. The man pulled out a radio's mouthpiece. Despite the ongoing madness, I could hear him barking orders in a foreign tongue to those inside.

"Navodchik," he said. "Naprav'te telo khodoka, smeshchennyy vpravo. Pogruzchik, vzryvoopasnaya obolochka. Zaderzhka predokhranitelya 0.5 sekundy. ( _Gunner, aim at the walker's body, offset to the right. Loader, high explosive shell. Fuse delay of 0.5 seconds_ )."

The turret turned towards the mech.

"Pozhar na vole! ( _Fire at will_!)"

An earth-shattering bang blew us back. The Paladin bent backwards, almost tipping on its heels. Its rockets were fired all at once. The first flew straight up into the sky, while the second twirled in the air, then hitting a tree behind us. The rest flew all around and slammed into the grass. I bet the driver wasn't trained enough to fight a foreign brute, let alone drive an advanced mech. The man in the cupola pulled out his radio again.

"Navodchik, ostavaysya v nem! Pogruzchik, dospekhi pirsing polnost'yu! ( _Gunner, stay in him! Loader, armor piercing all the way!_ )"

The machine's left track churned into the soil, kicking up dirt as it pivoted towards them. Then, with another chuff of soot, the monster dashed forward.

The big gun cracked the air once again. The fireball hurdled straight into the ground, spraying dirt all around. The walker straightened itself up. The arms of the clanker unfolded, revealing two powerful claws. The tracked machine stopped, and with a puff of smoke, it began driving backwards. The paladin raised its arms revealing two energy guns on each side. The man flung four objects at the mech, engulfing it in think, gray smoke. The machine's cannon fired into the could, after which we heard a heavy metallic clash. The Paladin drunkenly stumbled out of the smoke, arms floppy on both sides, and with cracks that extended everywhere on the front. Then, the Paladin started running towards its oppressor. With whatever guns left operational, the Paladin shot everything it got. Bullets pelted the machine. It's only energy blaster glowed, and fired a blue ball of light. The sphere bashed the front of the tracked machine.

The hull was slightly glowing orange. A dent was left. The turret glares at the arm, letting loose another fireball. The arm flung off its hinges and dropped onto the troops.

The unbalanced nature of the mech, along with its heavy damage forced it to run slightly to the left. The tracks of the other machine kept churning back, with the right one moving faster than the left. The turret caught up to the flanking Paladin, with its cannon blowing another shell. The shot skimmed the front, cracking away the Paladins front armor and exposing the driver. The Paladin jumped behind. A rocket was rising from it's only arm. The man reached in his pocket and held out a revolver. The gun popped 5 times, ending it with a long pause.

From the spot I was hiding in, I saw something dripping from the walker's cockpit.

Then, something slumping over unto the ground. The cannon lined up with the open mech. Thunder boomed from the gun, and with that, the Paladin flew onto its back. The remaining grunts stared at the fallen robot. Then, after I thought would be the end of the carnage, the machine gun on the back of the turret sprayed lead into the remaining crowd.

The ground was nothing more than a mass grave of angry Faunus. The reaper of the field realigned its turret and backed away behind the crest, leaving a trail of ruts and black soot behind.

Epilogue

We returned to the village to find it safe. According to the village's leaders, the White Fang's attach was compromised. I asked about the machine my team and I saw wipe out the Faunus. They told me the machine and its operators left. I asked what the machine was called.

"According to their commander," said one of the leaders, "the name of their machine was called a 'tank,' or _tankový,_ in their language. It was named after their leader, some guy named, Stalin."

He also stated that the machine was not the villages to begin with.

"They just came out of nowhere."


End file.
